Hebraic Musing
– This is the Day that the Lord has Made…
As the Israelites were
told to look at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal (representing blessings and
curses) the LORD told Moses to tell them – “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse—
the blessing if you obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am
giving you today; the
curse if you disobey the commands of the LORD your God and turn from the way
that I command you today by
following other gods, which you have not known.” Deuteronomy 11:26–28 NIV
Rabbi
Nachman of Breslov, an Hasidic master, once said, “In this world, a person has
only the very day and very moment in which he finds himself. Tomorrow
is a completely different world.” We’ve
heard about the importance of living in the present, but Rabbi Nachman seems to
elevate this idea to another level. Today
isn’t just important; it’s a world unto itself. Tomorrow, it will be gone, and another one
will take its place.
The
Jewish sages talk about this idea in terms of “sparks.” They explain that each day
has its own “spark” – its own opportunities and challenges; its own potential
for greatness and also for failure; the possibility for new blessings and also,
heaven forbid, for curses. Once the day
is done, that spark is gone forever, and with it, all the options that were
open to us just that very morning. With
this understanding, we can have a new appreciation for the opening verses of Deut.11:26
– “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse….”
According
to Jewish tradition, every word of the Torah bears unfathomable
significance. Not one word or letter is
extra. In these verses, the word “today”
could have easily been omitted without changing the general meaning of the
verse. Yet, the word is used, not once,
but three times. The word “today”
beckons us to look a bit closer.
It’s
not just that we have a choice in life whether or not to follow God and bring
blessings or curses into our lives; it’s that we have the opportunity and duty
to do so every single day. It doesn’t matter how righteous we were
yesterday; we need to choose God all over again today. In the same way, it doesn’t matter how
miserably we failed yesterday; it is a new day, and we can choose God today.
At
the funeral of a great rabbi, his son remarked that his father had “length of days. ” Someone remarked, “How can you say such a
thing? Your father only lived 66 years?”
The son replied, “Length of years he did
not have, but he did have length of days.” The son’s father had made every day
count by choosing God every day of his life.
Friends,
choose God today and every day. ♫ He
lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today.
He walks with me and talks with me…♫
Have
a good day.
Points to ponder
♫ Every day with Jesus Is sweeter than the day before
Every day with Jesus I love
Him more and more. ♫
“…choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve,…
But as for
me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Josh.24:15
Why is daily prayer important?
Let’s make every day count!
♫ This is the
day the LORD has made; let us
rejoice and be glad in it. ♫ Psalms 118:24
Yosef a.k.a.
Joe Brusherd July
6, 2021
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages
exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith”
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)” Weekly “Hebraic Musings” insightsbyyosef.blogspot.com/
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